Saei wins taekwondo title
Saturday, 23 August 2008
BEIJING, Aug. 22 : Iranian taekwondo player Hadi Saei clinched his second Olympic taekwondo gold Friday, beating Mauro Sarmiento of Italy 6-4 in the men's 80kg category.
Sarmiento dominated the first round with a 4-2 by a series of attacks, inluding an axe kick to Saei's head. However, 32-year-old Saei, who won the 68kg class at Athens Games, remained clear-minded. He just moved and waited.
When the opponent made mistakes during continuous attacks, Saei successfully threw two roundhouse kicks to Sarmiento's left side and drew the match into a 4-4 tie. He attcked first in round 3, scored his fifth and sixth point.
Sarmiento raised Saei's hand to congratulate the veteran.
China's Zhu Guo won the bronze after an intense repechage match with British player Aaron Cook, beating Cook 4-1 to become the first Chinese male taekwondo player to win a medal at Olympics.
Zhu said his South Korean coach helped him a lot.
America's legendary Steven Lopez, two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion, failed to extend his glory as he lost the quarterfinals to Sarmiento 1-2. He finally got bronze through the repechage.
Meantime, South Korea's Hwang Kyung-seon won the women's 67kg class taekwondo event at the Beijing Olympics Friday, beating Karine Sergerie of Canada 2-1.
"Because of my injury it was so hard to focus on the game. It was really difficult to win the gold," Hwang said.
It's the third gold South Korean taekwondo players have clinched in Beijing.
Hwang, bronze medalist in Athens, said the previous two golds made her feel a lot of pressure.
"I was disappointed by the bronze I won in Athens, so this time I swore that I would win the gold," she told a post-match press conference.
Sergerie took the lead in round 1 while Hwang, adopting defensive tactics, scored her first point in round 2. The two became more aggressive in the third round and both made a lot of attacks, but only Hwang managed to score when there were 20 seconds left and locked the gold.
The 22-year-old, also two-time world champion, hurt her left knee in the semifinals. She said she couldn't concentrate on the semifinals.
However, "all the coaches and trainers told me to use my faith to win. It was hard, but finally I did it," she said, adding that she's not satisfied with her performance.
"If I didn't have injuries, I would play better," she said.
Sergerie was not happy with the silver as she had targeted the gold before the Games. She said she lacked a bit of energy at the end of the match.
Sarmiento dominated the first round with a 4-2 by a series of attacks, inluding an axe kick to Saei's head. However, 32-year-old Saei, who won the 68kg class at Athens Games, remained clear-minded. He just moved and waited.
When the opponent made mistakes during continuous attacks, Saei successfully threw two roundhouse kicks to Sarmiento's left side and drew the match into a 4-4 tie. He attcked first in round 3, scored his fifth and sixth point.
Sarmiento raised Saei's hand to congratulate the veteran.
China's Zhu Guo won the bronze after an intense repechage match with British player Aaron Cook, beating Cook 4-1 to become the first Chinese male taekwondo player to win a medal at Olympics.
Zhu said his South Korean coach helped him a lot.
America's legendary Steven Lopez, two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion, failed to extend his glory as he lost the quarterfinals to Sarmiento 1-2. He finally got bronze through the repechage.
Meantime, South Korea's Hwang Kyung-seon won the women's 67kg class taekwondo event at the Beijing Olympics Friday, beating Karine Sergerie of Canada 2-1.
"Because of my injury it was so hard to focus on the game. It was really difficult to win the gold," Hwang said.
It's the third gold South Korean taekwondo players have clinched in Beijing.
Hwang, bronze medalist in Athens, said the previous two golds made her feel a lot of pressure.
"I was disappointed by the bronze I won in Athens, so this time I swore that I would win the gold," she told a post-match press conference.
Sergerie took the lead in round 1 while Hwang, adopting defensive tactics, scored her first point in round 2. The two became more aggressive in the third round and both made a lot of attacks, but only Hwang managed to score when there were 20 seconds left and locked the gold.
The 22-year-old, also two-time world champion, hurt her left knee in the semifinals. She said she couldn't concentrate on the semifinals.
However, "all the coaches and trainers told me to use my faith to win. It was hard, but finally I did it," she said, adding that she's not satisfied with her performance.
"If I didn't have injuries, I would play better," she said.
Sergerie was not happy with the silver as she had targeted the gold before the Games. She said she lacked a bit of energy at the end of the match.